Image Maker

Every shoot is different which means every shoot calls for different tools from time to time. And all photographers shoot different things so this list may have some items you would never need. But we’ve searched the web, heard from photographers and we’ve put together a list of things you may just need to have on your next shoot!

I’ve been buying and selling camera equipment for my entire adult life. Like most people, I’ve gone the eBay or Craigslist route. While I have had successful transactions on both I was starting to get really, really frustrated.

On craigslist, I had several bad experiences. I remember selling a Nikon body once and a guy contacted me interested in the camera. He told me that he for sure wanted to buy the camera. He told me he wanted to meet about 30 minutes away from my house. I wasn’t getting a lot of interest on craigslist with this camera so I decided to go. When I met him and showed him the camera he was very excited, but then started looking for every little flaw on the camera body. He told me he couldn’t pay what I was asking because of the small scuff on the back of the body. I was irritated but I was already invested in this transaction. I had given up an hour of driving that day to meet this guy. Long story short he ended up getting me to go down significantly on my price in person and I sold him the camera. Afterward, I felt taken. It felt like I had been conned even though I agreed to the price. Maybe I’m not the best negotiator in person, but this guy definitely had a plan to get me in person and then lowball me.

The problem I found with Craigslist is that you don’t have a lot of potential buyers since all your buyers have to live in the area. Photo and video gear is many times a niche product depending on what brand you are selling so Craigslist is not ideal. Some Canon gear can sell fine on Craigslist but when you are selling a more niche brand like Zeiss or Sigma it becomes much harder to have leverage as a seller.

eBay is another way of selling gear. The great thing about eBay is the number of potential buyers go way up. Now your gear is available to everyone in the US and even more if you choose. You don’t have to drive to meet some unethical person to begin a negotiation behind a gas station. But there is a huge flaw in eBays business model. They allow people to purchase an item without paying for it first. Over the last five years, this has become a problem for me more and more. I’ve spent time listing a camera body or lens and then someone purchases it. Great! Well, not exactly. Many times, the “buyer” messages me after purchases my item encouraging me to ship the item before he pays. Anyone who does this on eBay is trying to scam you and get your camera without paying. They get away with it on eBay all the time. If you are new to selling on eBay you don’t realize sometimes that you need to wait before someone pays you before you ship the item. The irritating part is that you have to go through the process of relisting your item to try to find a legitimate buyer. I’ve had to relist the same item 3-4 times before a legitimate person buys it.

About a year ago, I had the lightbulb moment of building my own marketplace just for us, the photographers and filmmakers of the world. A fresh and clean new pool of honest and ethical users where the prince of Nigeria isn’t trying to mug you online. So I made it happen. We created GearUp.

It took me and my business partner Caleb a whole year to design and build the iPhone and Android app but we did it. This app has been built by photographers and filmmakers for photographers and filmmakers. In this episode I'm going to tell you about the app we've built and why we are so excited about it!

In the past 5 years, drones have helped photographers and filmmakers take their craft to the next level. Whether you are a photographer, video producer or hobbyist there is a drone that’s perfect for you. 

In this episode, we interview amazing wedding photographer Ashley Rae from Ashley Rae Studio. We learn about how she turned photography into her fulltime career. Ashley talks about her approach to shooting on the wedding day and why she shoots a combination of film and digital. She also talks about what film and digital gear she uses and why. Are you an aspiring wedding photographer? This episode can help you grow your business and pick the right photography gear to turn your passion into your career.

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In today's episode, we compare two different lenses. The Canon 50mm f/1.2L and the Helios 44-2 58mm lens. We talk about why you don't need to break the bank when it comes to buying camera gear. Many photographers and filmmakers feel like they need the latest and greatest gear to make the best images, but we are going to show you why that's not always true! If you love photography, this episode is for you!

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Questions, Comments? Reach out: imagemakerpodcast@gmail.com

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Understanding the exposure triangle helps photographers capture better images and allows them to push their creativity to the next level. So what is the exposure triangle? Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO. The aperture is a measurement of how open or closed the lens is to light. Shutter speed is a measurement of how long the shutter within your camera stays open and how long the sensor in your camera body is exposed to light. ISO is a measurement of how sensitive the digital sensor in your camera body is to light. In this episode, we go into detail over how each of these affects the creative process of image-making.

Love photography or filmmaking? This episode is for you!

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Questions, Comments? Reach out: imagemakerpodcast@gmail.com

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In this episode, we talk about common mistakes photographers and filmmakers make when shooting weddings. We go into giving discounts to clients, not bringing a backup camera, forgetting an equipment checklist, not hiring an assistant, hiring the wrong assistant, and not scouting the location! Avoid these mistakes and your life will be 100 times easier!

If you love photography or filmmaking this episode is for you!

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Are you a wedding photographer or filmmaker? In this episode, we go over some great tips on how to not suck at wedding photography! We go over renting gear, understanding light, using a flash, bringing backups to the shoot, and backing everything up the second you get home. Of course these are just a few tips and in part 2 of this series, we will go over more tips on being a better photographer or videographer! 

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